


Dragon of the Spring

by GremlinJack



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GremlinJack/pseuds/GremlinJack
Summary: As Sakura grows older, she starts developing instincts and desires that seem a bit out of place for a trainee ninja and daughter of merchants. That, and a strange burning strength flowing under her skin...
Comments: 15
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

"Better a large forehead than a tiny brain."  
  
Ino didn't bother holding back her laugh. She'd already been heading over to intervene when she saw that nasty brat Ami and her two friends laying into the quiet pink-haired girl. Yes, the girl did have a larger forehead than normal (not to mention an unusual hair color) but that was hardly any reason to act like complete jerks on the very first week of the Academy! And now, Ino was very glad she had. Anyone who could deliver a zinger like that even when surrounded was someone Ino wanted to know better.  
  
Ami and her two friends immediately bristled like angry cats. "What did you just say, big-head?!"  
  
"Why, are you deaf as well? Or does your tiny brain mean you can't understand human speech?" Even as she continued to rile them up in the same deadpan tone, the pink-haired girl was clenching her fists and squaring her stance, clearly unafraid of the three-to-one odds.  
  
Smirking, Ino stepped into the group's bubble. "Well, well. Starting trouble already, Ami? I wonder, though, if you'll be so brave against someone who's not alone."  
  
Ami hissed on seeing her. "This isn't your business, Ino!"  
  
"I'm making it my business. What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Ino did not consider herself a combat prodigy. She was however the daughter of the head of a major clan, and Ami knew it. Being pretty and popular and confident and all-round amazing didn't hurt either. Facing the girl who was already on her way to being their class' queen bee, Ami and her minions beat a hasty retreat.  
  
The pink-haired girl observed them go, before facing Ino. "I could have handled them."  
  
Ino's flippant comeback died in her throat. Something about the girl told her that she meant every word. Unconsciously taking a more formal stance, Ino said, "I'm sure you could have, but isn't this faster? Besides, now you won't get into trouble for fighting."  
  
"I suppose." The girl started to relax, then blinked and hurriedly bent into a bow. "Oh my goodness, where are my manners?! I am Sakura Haruno! It is a pleasure to meet you! Thank you for helping me!"  
  
And that was Ino's introduction to her best (and oddest) friend in the whole world.  
  
Ino quickly realized that in her natural state, Sakura was a sweet shy girl who wouldn't hurt a fly. But when something riled her up? It was almost like a Transformation technique the way Sakura turned into a cold confident personality with an aura of suppressed violence.  
  
Being the heiress to a clan of mental manipulators, Ino was aware of multiple personalities and other mental aberrations. This wasn't that. Sakura never had any memory problems or lost track of what she was doing. It was as if she developed the attitude of someone with overwhelming force at their disposal. Which should have looked absurd on a small pink-haired girl, but somehow didn't. Ino's father was the head of Torture and Interrogation, she knew better than most the importance of body language. Angry Sakura simply had an instinctive understanding of how to project intimidation.  
  
Where the daughter of civilian merchants could have picked up such an instinct was a mystery that puzzled Ino no end. But that didn't mean she couldn't learn from it. Or that she couldn't teach Sakura how to project that confidence consciously, instead of only when she was angry. As a result, by the age of eight, the duo had cemented their positions as the untouchable queens of their academy year. It helped that Sakura had an intellect and work ethic that let her ace the theoretical work.  
  
It was also in the third year in the academy that Ino first started to realize that her friend may have the strength to back up her attitude. It was in this year that they started full contact sparring.  
  
Now, Ino knew Sakura was stronger than she looked. She never slacked off in training, and she could keep up with the major clan children in physical exercises. Still, Ino was slightly worried when, in a twist of fate, Sakura got put up against Ami in her very first spar.  
  
Over the last two years, Ami had continued to take verbal potshots at Sakura whenever she could get away with it, but seemed unwilling to start a physical confrontation in front of Ino. Now, though, she was being given official permission to thrash Sakura, and she leaped on the chance with both feet.  
  
Initially, Ami had the edge. Sakura's taijutsu might be textbook, but Ami was bigger, stronger, and had a lot more experience brawling. In the first few exchanges, Ami managed to land some solid hits that staggered Sakura. Then the tide turned.  
  
In front of Ino's eyes, Sakura seemed to start moving faster and with more confidence. Slowly, with an air of inevitability, Sakura at first equaled, then started to overwhelm the bigger girl. The end, when it came, was swift. Ami threw a punch at Sakura's torso. Sakura took the hit and ignored it entirely, instead driving forward with a right cross that flattened her opponent.  
  
Ino cheered and hugged her friend, then pulled back in surprise. "Sakura, you're burning up! Are you sick?"  
  
"What? No! I feel great! It's probably from the sparring. You know I run hot."  
  
Ino nodded. She did know that Sakura's body always seemed warmer than a normal person. It's why Ino loved cuddling with her in cold weather. Mentally shrugging, Ino dismissed the elevated body temperature as unimportant. After all, it was already going back to normal.  
  
As the years went by, though, Ino did notice something. If the teachers didn't stop the spar early, as long as the fight lasted long enough... Sakura _always_ won.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the day after she had passed the academy's final exam and put on the forehead protector that marked her as a shinobi of Konoha. Sakura sat in the classroom and pondered on the identity of her teammates. Honestly speaking, it could have been worse, but that was cold comfort at best.  
  
Naruto Uzumaki... Sakura didn't have much of an opinion of him, other than 'noisy'. The blond prankster had been wise enough never to target her for one of his pranks, and so she'd never really given him much thought other than coolly rebuffing his over-friendly overtures. Thankfully for his continued health, he'd turned his attentions elsewhere. Sakura had no idea how a quiet and refined girl like Hinata could stand to be around such a loudmouth, but puppy love covereth a multitude of sins. But while she might not care for him one way or another, that did not mean she wanted the class clown as a teammate. Especially since he'd failed the finals, and had probably only been allowed on a team after he passed some make-up test or something.  
  
Sasuke Uchiha on the other hand, Sakura did have feelings for, and they were overwhelmingly negative. Her best friend Ino had a crush on the boy, and Ino's enduring obsession had greatly cut into their time together. A part deep inside Sakura did not like that one bit. Ino was _hers_. Even worse, though, was the way Sasuke looked at his classmates, her and Ino included.  
  
 _He thinks we are beneath him._  
  
Sakura tried to make allowances for the tragedy that had befallen the boy, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter. Sakura couldn't put it into words, but it was disturbing how much anger came at the mere thought of being disrespected.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Sakura tried to calm herself. Hopefully her sensei would be someone she could work with. Once they started their duties as ninja, she could prove herself while ignoring the other two, and all would be well.  
  


* * *

She had been wrong. Her sensei was, if possible, even more condescending than Sasuke! First he was hours late to their first team meeting. Then he was deliberately vague and confusing during introductions. Then he suggested that the test he was going to give them was so hard she would throw up! Sakura had a big breakfast just to spite him, and it was lucky she had because he was over three hours late! Again!  
  
The test itself was an obvious ploy to pit the three genin against each other. Only two bells for three ninja, and the one who can't snatch one from him flunks? He must have a really low opinion of their intelligence. Unfortunately, events were proving him right. Naruto was too thick, and Sasuke too arrogant to realize that he was too strong for them to overcome individually.  
  
Admittedly, it was amusing watching how he handled the boys. Her plan had been to wait until they got their asses beat, then approach them with an offer of alliance while they were licking their wounds.  
  
All that went out of the window when Kakashi hit her with a genjutsu.  
  
The sight of Ino, battered and bloody, had triggered a flood of rage that had swept all plans and stratagems aside. The sudden rush of burning power had popped the illusion like a soap bubble, but Sakura didn't care. That bastard had dared show her the death of her most precious person! That would never happen! She would not let it happen!  
  
Her suddenly razor sharp senses had told her where her sensei was located. That was all Sakura needed. With a scream of rage she launched herself at her enemy.  
  


* * *

Kakashi could admit to feeling disappointed earlier. Neither his sensei's son nor Obito's kin had shown the basic understanding of what it meant to be a Konoha shinobi. As for the pink-haired girl, he hadn't really thought much about her. Now he was wondering if he ought to have read Sakura Haruno's file more carefully. Surely it mentioned the propensity for berserker rages?  
  
Her newfound speed and strength was certainly impressive for a genin, and judging by her growls her anger had been triggered by whatever the genjutsu had shown her. Which was fair, the Hell Viewing Technique was meant to trigger a fight or flight response, and she seemed to have landed on 'fight'. But the problem was that she was fighting a LOT harder than what her academy results had indicated. And if he wasn't mistaken, she was only getting stronger and faster as the fight progressed.  
  
Kakashi put on a burst of speed and delivered a hard fist to her solar plexus. No anger could overcome the need to breathe.  
  
It worked. For ten seconds. Then she was back on her feet and breathing fire. That last wasn't a euphemism, she was literally breathing fire, which was an interesting trick without any visible hand signs. There was also a massive heat radiating from the rest of her body, so hot it actually made close combat uncomfortable. Oh, and she was now strong and fast enough to equal most chunin. That was a thing, too.  
  
Deciding the situation required more observation, Kakashi left behind a shadow clone to fight her while he Flickered out of combat. It was a maneuver he had done before, so practiced only a jounin should have been able to spot it. The girl spotted it. And tried to give chase before being distracted by the attacking shadow clone.  
  
 _Heightened senses too?_ Kakashi decided to dip into his bag of ANBU tricks for defeating enemy trackers. By the time he had concealed himself adequately, the heat around Sakura was enough start setting the grass on fire. Each time the clone hit her with what should be a knockout blow, it only slowed her for a few seconds before she came back even stronger and hotter.  
  
By this time, Kakashi was beginning to fear for her health. He didn't know what bloodline or kinjutsu she was using, but that much radiant heat could not be good for a human body. As an experiment, he dismissed his shadow clone. As soon as he did, Sakura started looking for his real body. But he was ANBU, and her senses could not penetrate his concealment. As he watched, the girl seemed to grow calmer. The heat dissipated. The hard scale-like pattern that had appeared on her skin slowly faded. After five minutes, all that remained was a young girl, breathing hard and swaying with exhaustion.  
  
It was at this point that Kakashi used every ounce of speed and skill to deliver a knockout blow to a pressure point on Sakura's neck. The girl collapsed. After a long tense minute, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief as Sakura continued to stay down. Looking around, he rubbed his head. The test was a bust. He needed to get the girl to a hospital, then question her carefully as to what had happened, then report to the Hokage. From what he recalled, she was the only ninja in her immediate family, meaning it would probably land on him to guide her through what looked a lot like a new bloodline, if only to minimize the number of people who knew.  
  
Sighing, he created another shadow clone to let the boys know their teammate was injured and the test was cancelled, then he picked up the girl and took off. _I knew I shouldn't have complained to Kurenai yesterday about being bored._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commissioned by Weise

Hiruzen Sarutobi, third Hokage of Konoha, sighed as he tapped out his pipe. Around him the walls of his office shimmered with a barrier designed to isolate the interior from all forms of surveillance. It was honestly a thing of beauty, a product of the Second Hokage working in conjunction with masters from the now-defunct Uzumaki clan. Not only did it blur everything within, block chakra, and prevent all sound from leaving, but it also acted as a sensing array so no one could cheat it by sneaking inside before it activated. His rival Danzo learned that the hard way when it cost him one of his spies.

Such a barrier also prevented anyone inside from sensing anything without, and also prevented his own ANBU bodyguard from doing their jobs, which is why he didn't bother using it very often. The man standing in front of him right now, though, was one of the few people who could ask for the extra privacy, and receive it no questions asked. Kakashi Hatake had bought that privilege with over two decades of blood, sweat, tears, and heartbreaking sacrifice for Konoha. No matter how much of a shiftless slacker he had become in recent years, Hiruzen would always have time for him.

Even when he brought the aging Hokage a mystery hidden in an enigma wrapped up in a sizzling explosive tag.

"She's already back home?"

"She woke up on the way to the hospital. By the time we got there even the bruises had vanished. The medic declared her in perfect health. I had to buy her some fresh clothes on the way, though. Or strange questions might have been asked."

His brow furrowed in worry. Civilians might think a new bloodline was cause for celebration. They were wrong. While a new bloodline did present a significant boon to any shinobi village, they also presented a significant risk. Particularly when the bloodline holder was female.

A male bloodline holder could sow their oats and donate their sperm. They didn't even have to worry about child support, the village provided generous rewards for women willing to bear the child of endangered bloodlines. There was a reason poor Sasuke Uchiha found himself hounded by young women, and his good looks and talent were only a small part of it.

With a girl, however, the equation got a lot more complex. Until Sakura Haruno gave birth to a son, who in turn grew up to spread his seed, the whole project would have a single point of failure. A point of failure that would have to be guarded. Which meant it fell to Hiruzen to decide how best to guard that point of failure, and how many resources to commit to protecting it. And hope that their enemies were less committed to eliminating the threat.

He couldn't even order the Haruno girl away from active duty. From the sound of it, her bloodline was made for combat. And Konoha needed to know the full extent of that bloodline if they were to know the extent of the opportunity she represented - and the extent others would go to deny them.

And all this assumed the bloodline even bred true. The First Hokage's Wood Release was an infamous example of an ability which should have been inheritable, but had since proved decidedly otherwise.

"And young Sakura doesn't have any idea as to full extent of her ability?"

"She didn't even know she had an ability, beyond the ability to heal quickly from injuries. But since she's never received worse than bruises, no one really noticed." Kakashi tilted his head in thought. "I did notice she seemed to shrug off injuries faster as her body grew hotter. I think the regeneration, the anger, and the flames are all one package. She might not be able to show one without the others."

"And you're certain she doesn't have a seal of any kind on her?"

"First thing I checked. She's not a jinchuuriki."

Hiruzen nodded his acknowledgement. On the face of it, it was an absurd question. Every single tailed beast had been sealed, and the two tailed beast containers associated with fire were both active duty shinobi in service to Konoha's rivals. But both he and Kakashi had painful memories of a promising young kunoichi who had been turned into a living bomb by Konoha's enemies using a deliberately faulty tailed beast seal.

Hiruzen slowly refilled and lit his pipe. After puffing on it for a minute, he delivered his verdict. "We'll keep the team as it is. Pulling her will simply draw unnecessary attention." His eyes narrowed. "Train her Kakashi. Train her control. Even if she isn't one, much like a jinchuuriki, the greatest danger is she will lose control in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What about Naruto? Should I give him similar training?"

"Mmm... no. Naruto knows of his burden, but has shown no signs of drawing on its power. His seal is still strong. Best let sleeping dogs lie."

"I take it I also have to tell Sakura to keep quiet about her abilities?"

"Do you think she can keep it secret?" It was a non-trivial question. With the current fad for lionizing bloodline holders, any new bloodline ability would be widely celebrated. Instant recognition and social advancement. Such would be tempting for a grown shinobi, let alone a daughter of civilians. Hiruzen mentally scoffed. The whole celebration of bloodlines had started in just the last few years, a propaganda campaign by his own office to try and keep alive not just the Uchiha, but a few other bloodlines that were close to extinction.

Kakashi had been considering the question. Finally, he replied, "I think she will, if I tell her to. From what little I've seen, she's a remarkably self-possessed young woman. Apart from a few people and things, there's very little that excites her. She'll keep quiet. The real trouble will be my other genin. I don't know how much they saw or heard."

"I'll leave it to your judgement on how to handle them."

The old man sighed again as the barrier fell and the jounin left. It wasn't just potential enemy action he had to worry about. Any clan in Konoha would be delighted to have a powerful new bloodline holder as a vassal. It had been a major struggle to prevent the Uchiha from being absorbed after the massacre left Sasuke alone, and that was with the fame of the Uchiha name acting as a barrier to acquisition. The Harunos might as well be meat in a pool of hungry sharks. Best for everyone involved that Sakura grow strong enough to make her own decisions before the other clans came calling.

* * *

Sakura found the days after her aborted genin test to be passing strange. Being told you possessed a powerful and hitherto unknown bloodline ability should have been a life changing event. Yet, after being admonished to keep it a secret, her life went back to being mostly mundane.

Yes, she was a genin now instead of an academy student, but that just meant a different kind of mundane. Sasuke was still a brooding loner who she had to resist punching out every time he looked at her with dismissive eyes. Naruto was still a hyperactive loudmouth who was way too stubborn for his own good. Neither of them treated her any differently, which implied neither of them had witnessed her little freak out during their test. Her days were still filled with training and chores (that called themselves D-rank missions) and in her free time she still hung out with Ino and complained about boys.

The differences, she supposed, lay in the details. For example, her personal training with Kakashi emphasized emotional control and keeping your composure under stress. This was honestly a bit hilarious. Didn't he realize that Sakura had been controlling her volcanic temper for as long as she could remember? She wondered if Kakashi spent his personal training time with Naruto teaching him how to be a prankster. Or maybe he was teaching Sasuke how to be an uncommunicative jerk?

She supposed Kakashi did have one point. Sakura needed to able to call upon her ability at will. If it had been a real fight, Kakashi would have had multiple opportunities to kill her before Sakura got strong enough to start shrugging off damage.

With Kakashi helping her, Sakura found she could in fact maintain a certain level of strength without first getting angry or getting into a fight. It was a bit like clenching a muscle, in that the strength would slip away if she stopped paying attention. But as long as she focused, she could maintain a temperature just shy of setting her clothes on fire. Which also left her strong and fast enough to keep up with most chunin, at least according to Kakashi.

Still, it quickly became clear that unless she chose to fight in the nude, her bloodline ability would quickly rack up the bills on replacement clothing. Not to mention the embarrassment of being naked in public when she eventually came down from cutting loose. That meant carrying multiple changes of clothing at all times. Which was a definite inconvenience for any shinobi, and finally prompted Kakashi to teach her something genuinely useful.

Storage scrolls! Sakura had known they existed, but never had she thought she would have the opportunity to make them, at least not so early in her career. All her life, whenever the topic of fuinjutsu had come, teachers in the academy would brush it off as being way too complicated and difficult. The students were taught how to use certain common seals, but nothing on how to make them.

Kakashi made them look easy. He claimed that he was only a dabbler in the art, but Sakura suspected that Kakashi's standards for 'dabbling' was a lot higher than most people. His instructions on how to create storage scrolls were clear, concise, and included guidelines for her to run her own controlled experiments so she could customize them to her specific needs. In particular, he helped her figure out how to make storage scrolls that were far more resistant to flame than mere paper and ink had any business being. The scrolls still wouldn't survive if she held on to them while going all out, but at least she wouldn't set them on fire by accident.

Even better, the storage scrolls were tangible proof that she was, in fact, learning something useful under her jounin-sensei. This was very useful for helping Ino corral her own team. The poor girl had done nothing but complain about her sensei, who apparently preferred to play shogi with her teammate Shikamaru than teach them new techniques. Now that Ino could point to Sakura as proof of what other sensei were doing, she could shame her sensei into getting off his ass and taking their training a bit more seriously. Sakura extracted a promise from Ino to keep her updated on how things went with Team 10.

Sakura didn't tell Ino, but she felt her own team 7 had its share of problems. On their team training and assignments, Sasuke and Naruto spent more time needling and arguing with each other than actually doing their jobs. It didn't matter how well Sakura did her part if the two idiots were too busy arguing to do theirs. And their sensei was absolutely no help, too busy giggling into his porn to discipline them. More and more, Sakura was beginning to wonder if this situation didn't call for a little bit of temper. To put into those fools the fear of exactly what would happen should they not shape up right damn quick. But she'd promised her sensei to keep her cool and her ability under wraps, and she did her best to meditate on the fire in her blood and ignore her team's antics.

Of course, those antics got kind of hard to ignore when, after yet another mundane chore rendered excessively complicated by the boys' inability to keep on task, Naruto's own frustration boiled over into a demand, right to the Hokage's face, that their team be assigned a higher ranking mission.

To her shock, instead of shutting the idiot down, the Hokage said yes! Even Naruto's attempt to beat up the very rude and drunk bridge builder was brushed off!

At this point, Sakura's own temper was getting harder to keep in check. It just didn't seem worth the effort when her own teammates got better results by doing the opposite. Yes, she knew the situations were not exactly equal. Her temper tantrums had the potential to be a lot more destructive than Naruto's. But Sakura was so damn tired of being the reasonable professional one, only to see her efforts be ignored.

Thus, as their team left for their very first C-rank mission, Sakura was running much hotter than usual.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commissioned by Weise and Shawn Whyte

Sakura was on edge. Far more than usual.  
  
First there was the low-key resentment at the antics of her team that had been slowly building up for months. Then there was the nervousness that came with her first time leaving the village on an official shinobi mission. And lest she forget, there was the utterly rude and dismissive client who in one moment would openly question her team’s ability, while demanding they do their utmost to protect him in the other.  
  
All of these things had already stressed her temper and brought the fire in her blood close to ignition. And as the heat built, the effects of her bloodline had started to manifest. Increasingly violent thoughts, improved strength, hardening skin… and most relevant of all, heightened senses.  
  
Her eyes were sharper - sharp enough to see the trembling in the client’s hands that couldn’t be explained by his alcoholism.  
  
Her ears could discern the subtlest sounds - subtle enough to pick up on the genuine worry underlying his irascible words.  
  
Finally, there was her sense of smell. This was the sense whose increased sensitivity confused her the most, usually because she simply didn’t understand what she was smelling. Kakashi, though, had looked up from his book long enough to give her some tips. Which is why, underneath the stink of sweat, dirt, and sake coating Tazuna the bridge builder, she could make out the distinct odor of fear.  
  
She’d had to spend the last three days with that scent in her nose, and everything that it implied. It amazed her that none of her team seemed to notice. It occurred to Sakura that before she had become aware of the advantages of her bloodline, she might have been just as blind to the obvious as everyone else.  
  
Well, everyone except Kakashi. The man was a jounin, and from what Ino had found out, a fairly good one. It seemed beyond belief that he wouldn’t have spotted the same signs. But if he had, he gave no sign of it. When, on the second night, Sakura had tried to quietly bring up the topic, he’d metaphorically patted her head and told her not to worry about it.  
  
Well, Kakashi’s advice had worked, to some extent. Sakura was now less worried and more furious. To be dismissed by her sensei, by the one man in the world who should know exactly what she was capable of!  
  
Sakura had fallen deep into meditation that night, seeking to restore her balance and temper her rage. She didn’t want to be an angry berserker, she really didn’t, but at times like this she had a hard time remembering why.  
  
Her attempts to check her anger had not been entirely successful. Even though nothing showed on her face, both the boys and even the civilian had unconsciously maintained their distance. Perhaps they could feel the heat radiating from her, or they could hear her bones creaking due to the tension in her muscles. Honestly, it wasn’t so bad. Yes, Kakashi would often give her the occasional side-eyed look, but at least the other irritating elements had curbed their obnoxious behavior. More and more, Sakura was beginning to suspect that being quiet and respectful all the time was just an invitation for people to disrespect you. As if being nice and civilized was some kind of weakness.  
  
Suddenly, Sakura’s senses picked up a foreign stimulus that broke through her ruminations. Next to the path was a large puddle. Except to her eagle-sharp eyes the color looked just a little bit off. And her nose didn’t find the expected scent of moist earth, but instead the faintest whiff of sweat and weapon oil. Also, now that she thought about it, it hadn’t rained in days. The rest of the area was dry as the dust of the road.  
  
The implications were obvious. The puddle was not a puddle, but an illusion meant to hide someone. Most likely enemy shinobi. Shinobi which should not have been there on what was supposed to be a C-rank mission.  
  
Their client, in spite of his wariness, paid not the puddle even a passing glance. Sasuke, in the lead of the formation, was staring straight ahead, as if marching to meet his destiny. Naruto was on the side of the path nearest the puddle, but he might as well have been on the moon for all the attention he was paying. And as for Kakashi… Sakura slowed down and casually turned her head to glance at him. Kakashi looked up from his smutty novel, gave her a cheerful smile, and went back to his reading. _Damn that infuriating man!_  
  
The tension was unbearable. Sakura’s body was as taught as a shamisen wire, as she expected an attack to emerge aimed at their client. Amazingly, Tazuna and the genin all passed by the puddle with nary a ripple. This didn’t soothe her nerves one bit, since now it implied the attack would come from behind. When the two masked nin exploded out of the puddle, it was almost a relief.  
  
The two shinobi had scratched forehead protectors with a single horn coming out of each, and they each had an armored gauntlet with a serrated chain connecting the two of them. In one smooth motion, they had the chain wrapped around Kakashi. Then they pulled, and the razor-sharp device reduced the jounin to bloody chunks.  
  
Sakura didn’t care. First, her senses had already detected the flicker of a high-speed jutsu from Kakashi. Second, in spite of the gory scene she smelt no blood in the air. Third, and most important of all, she had already closed the distance to the enemy closest to her.  
  
Sparring with Kakashi had taught her that going for the face of a taller enemy was futile and just pulled her off-balance. Instead she ducked under a hasty punch at her face, put out an arm to block a rising knee, and punched.  
  
Academy instructors often spoke of aiming to punch through an opponent to do real damage. Let none say Sakura didn’t pay attention in class. Aiming for a point a foot behind her target, she poured every bit of the anger and humiliation built up over the last three days into her arm. The initial strike of her fist lifted her opponent off his feet in spite of his armored jacket. And then her bloodline manifested as a fireball exploding out of the end of her fist.  
  
Scorched leather and fabric and metal links went flying as the man was blasted back. The chain on his arm sharply arrested his journey, but the sudden force also yanked his companion off balance. This was an invitation Sakura was happy to take. Turning sharply, she charged at the other enemy. The second man quickly disconnected the chain, and brought his gauntlet around in a vicious hook as Sakura closed the distance.  
  
Too slow. Sakura almost laughed at how slow he seemed to be moving. A quick twitch of her head, and the armored fist only brushed her face instead of caving in her skull. Yes, the razor-sharp edges tore open a long cut through her cheek and right ear, but what did that matter? Sakura wrapped two inhumanly strong hands around the man’s extended arm, and twisted her body into a shoulder throw.  
  
There was a moment of resistance, then with a tearing sound the man’s feet lifted off the ground, clods of dirt sticking to his sandals from where he had tried to cling to the soil with chakra. Sakura didn’t have the best technique for the throw, but she made up for it with brute strength, slamming the man down on his back.  
  
Before he could recover, Sakura had wrapped her entire torso around the gauntleted arm. Ignoring the cuts and tears being caused by the sharp claws on the device, she braced her feet against the man’s shoulder, and arched her back. The overextended arm snapped like dry kindling.  
  
“AARRGGH!! YOU BITCH!”  
  
Howling with pain, the man pulled out a kunai with his free hand and tried to stab her with it. Sakura lifted up one hand and caught his wrist.  
  
Even with her bloodline raging through her veins, Sakura wasn’t strong enough to overpower an adult shinobi. She could, however, direct some of the burning fire chakra inundating her system to the hand that was holding his wrist.  
  
One thing Sakura had discovered during her tests with her ability - the sudden surge of power tended to play merry hell with her control. Jutsu that she’d long since learned in the academy suddenly became near impossible, collapsing from the sudden excess of fire-nature chakra in her coils. Retraining her control while in the throes of her power was a work in progress. But she had learned how to focus the expression of her bloodline limit. She’d done it at the start when she poured all her power into her first strike. Now she did again. In a matter of seconds, the scent of burning cloth and flesh filled the air.  
  
The man was screaming again, desperately struggling to pull free. But he stubbornly clung to the kunai, so Sakura stubbornly clung to him. As they struggled, Sakura was aware of Sasuke unleashing a storm of shuriken to fend off the first ninja, who seemed to have got back to his feet after Sakura’s fiery punch. Sakura wasn’t worried. Even if the man evaded the barrage, Kakashi was waiting in the wings.  
  
Sure enough, a dark blur knocked out Sasuke’s target from behind, before resolving into her jounin-sensei’s form as he moved to her own enemy and put the enemy nin into a chokehold that had him out in seconds.  
  
“Sakura.” Her sensei’s voice was concerned. “Their weapons were poisoned. How are you feeling?”  
  
Poison? Normally that might have worried her, but now all she felt was a furious contempt. _These fools think poison can slay a dragon?_  
  
Looking down at the scratches littering her body, she could smell something sour, and there was something greasy spread around the wounds and seeping into her shirt. Presumably, different poisons would smell different, but Sakura took care to memorize the scent of this one. Then she focused her power into her injuries. For a few seconds, something in the wounds seemed to resist her healing. But as her entire body grew hot enough to start smoking, a threshold was breached, and her cuts closed rapidly. Itching on her face told her that the facial wound had closed as well. “It’s not a problem,” she informed her sensei.  
  
Kakashi nodded his head in satisfaction, even as his quick hands finished securing the prisoners. Turning to look at the rest of the team, he gave a warm smile. “Sasuke, good job backing up Sakura. Naruto, good job protecting the client. Sakura, nice rush, but you should have coordinated with your team better.”  
  
Sakura tilted her head slightly, acknowledging the statement. Not that she would have waited even if she’d thought of it. She was sick and tired of being looked down upon by her team members. The new wariness in Sasuke’s eyes as he looked at her was more than worth the slight risk she’d run.  
  
Now that she was feeling a lot calmer, she was surprised that Naruto had had the presence of mind to stick with the client while she and Sasuke engaged the enemy. She supposed all those team drills Kakashi had insisted on had proven good for something. Glancing at the blond, she saw him blushing and looking at the ground. Apparently even the class clown could feel embarrassed.  
  
“I didn’t really do anything,” the boy mumbled, “Sakura was the one fighting them.” Then his head snapped up. “That’s right, Sakura, how’d you do all that? You were all like - HAAH! - and then it was all like - BOOM! - and that guy got blown up and then you broke that guy’s arm and where’d you learn to do that it was so cool -”  
  
“Calm down, Naruto.” Sakura rolled her eyes. Then she asked Sasuke, “I guess you want to know as well?”  
  
The Uchiha gave a cautious nod.  
  
Nodding in return, Sakura said, “It’s a secret of mine. I’ll tell you about it, but not now.” She waved her hand around. “Not in front of the civilian and the enemy nin. Speaking of which,” she turned to Kakashi. “What do we do with these two, sensei?”  
  
Kakashi hummed. “Well, these two are called the Demon Brothers. Chunin-level missing-nin from Mist, and professional killers. I’d like to interrogate them to determine their target.” He gave Sakura a smile. “I pretended to be dead to see who else they’d go after, but you moved a bit too fast for that.”  
  
“Who else?” Sakura furrowed her brow. “They’re obviously here to target our client.”  
  
“Is it that obvious?” her sensei smirked at her.  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“Oi, what are you talking about?” broke in Tazuna. “Why’d they be after me? I’ve never seen them in my whole life.”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sakura smiled at the man with all her teeth. “Maybe because you’ve been stinking of fear ever since we left the village? How your nervousness only got worse the closer we got to Wave?”  
  
She was striding towards the old drunk now. Tazuna swallowed and took an unconscious step back.  
  
“You knew.” Sakura hissed. “You knew someone was after you. Which begs the question - why didn’t you warn us? Surely warning your bodyguard could only be a good thing? Unless you did something that you knew would upset us. Something like, I don’t know, asking for a C-rank mission when you knew there were _missing-nin_ after you?”  
  
“What - hey, little girl, you better not go throwing around accusations like that! I’m your client! You have to treat me with respect!”  
  
Sakura relaxed and gave him a sunny smile. “Actually, I don’t have to treat you at all.” Turning to her sensei, she stood to attention and adopted a formal tone. “Jounin Hatake, I have reason to believe that the client has deliberately misled us regarding mission parameters. Pursuant to Konoha mission regulations regarding client rights and privileges, I move that we suspend this mission and return to Konoha until an investigation can be made regarding the client’s claims.”  
  
Kakashi had an amused twinkle in his eye. “Well, if one of my cute little subordinates feels that way, I can’t really say no can I?” He turned to Tazuna, “Unless the client would like to say something in his defense?”  
  
It didn’t take long for their client to crack. Sakura listened to Tazuna’s tale of how an oppressive businessman named Gato was wringing his country dry and was using missing-nin to enforce his monopoly. Normally Sakura would have been sympathetic to his plight, except then the man tried to tug on their heartstrings by wailing about his daughter and grandson and the dire fate that would befall them if he didn’t return and finish his bridge connecting Wave to the mainland.  
  
 _Only an idiot would fall for such blatant emotional manipulation,_ Sakura sneered mentally. Which is of course when Naruto leaped up saying they had to see the mission through, and Sasuke silently backed him up.  
  
Kakashi gave a great show of thinking about it, as if he wasn’t the jounin and couldn’t turn them around any time he chose. Then he looked at Sakura, “How about you, Sakura? What do you think? Go ahead or turn back?”  
  
Part of Sakura wanted to insist on turning back out of spite. But Tazuna did raise a good point - this Gato sounded like the sort of scum that needed taking down. Plus, she really needed more combat experience to figure out the limits of her ability. But neither could she simply let Tazuna off the hook. It was a matter of respect. He’d lied to them, and he had to be punished for it.  
  
“I’m agreeable to going on,” she said. “But,” Then she drew every ounce of hauteur she could muster and stared the bridge-builder down, “Let’s get one thing absolutely clear. Fighting enemy shinobi is an enormously different mission from fighting the bandits that you’ve paid for. So. We’ll do this mission. And at the end of it, _you will pay us every ryo it’s worth!_ I don’t care if you have to sell your damned bridge to do it! Are. We. Clear?!”  
  
Tazuna was pale as a ghost. He stuttered and mumbled something that sounded like assent. Sakura was about to insist on him making himself clear when she felt Kakashi’s hand on her shoulder. “He agrees. Now let’s ease off the killing intent before he has a heart attack, yes?”  
  
Sakura blinked and then smiled sheepishly. She hadn’t meant to press that hard. Still, the important point was that Tazuna had agreed and mutual respect was restored. It was a much more cheerful pink-haired genin that headed into the misty strait separating the Land of Fire from the island of Wave.


End file.
